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The last time someone was put on trial for witchcraft in Pennsylvania, William Penn was governor and the year was 1684.

The trial of two Delaware County women named Margaret Matson and a Mrs. Gethro Hendrickson happened 8 years before the Salem Witch Trials in Massachusetts.

The Salem trials resulted in the execution of 20 people and the arrests of over 100. In Pennsylvania, the outcome was much different.

Margaret Matson and her husband, Neels, were Swedish-Finnish settlers who spoke very little English and lived on a farm near Ridley Creek in Eddystone, Pennsylvania. The land they settled, called "New Sweden," eventually came to be occupied by British settlers.

Some of the new settlers claimed that Margaret, a traditional Finnish healer, bewitched their cattle and other animals. They also alleged that livestock gave little milk and that some died because of witchcraft.

William Penn oversaw the trial himself in Philadelphia. There is no account of Hendrickson attending the trial.

According to author Harry Emerson Wildes (in his book about Penn), the governor knew what he was doing when he questioned Margaret:

"Art thou a witch?" Penn asked.

She denied that she was.

"Hast thou ever ridden through the air on a broomstick?" Penn inquired.

She was reported to be confused by the question.

"Well," said Penn, "I know of no law against it."

She was found guilty of having the reputation of a witch, but not guilty of bewitching animals.

A large fine was charged to her, but the sum was to be returned if she acted in good behavior. The verdict reflects Penn’s Quaker values and overall tolerance.

There were no official laws against witchcraft in Pennsylvania until 1718, after Penn’s death, when the province adopted English laws. The statue against "conjuration, witchcraft and dealing with evil and wicked spirits" ended in the 1750s. There is no record of any other trials.

Margaret Matson lives on in Pennsylvania folklore as the "Witch of Ridley Creek."